Bunch builder



J. F. LEHMAN BUNCH BUILDER May 22, 1928.

Filed May '7, 1924 31 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. F. LEHMAN May 22, 1928.

BUNCH BUILDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May '7, 1924 Q m mw kw .3 X.\ Q m Mmw ow W. MW NP u .k N w I xv Q HHIIIHHIIIIIII 1| IHHHIII llHlI llllilnurl'mil Ill Jim/Mm Patented May 22, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. LEH MAN, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO HOLCOMBE TEXTILE'EQUIPMENT CO, INC, 0]! BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, A COR-PORATION OF ALABAMA.

' Application filed May 7,

My invention relates to an attachment for spinning frames having for itsobject to build automatically a bunch of thread or yarn at the base ofthe feeler wood on the bobbins or quills before the main servicewindings are laid on the bobbins.

The purpose of the bunch is to provide sufficient yarn on the bobbin toprevent the feeler changing the bobbin in the shuttle with anunnecessary amount of t-hreador yarn thereon which would constituteWaste. By building this small preliminary winding or bunch the feelercan be caused to throw out the bobbin with just enough thread or.

yarn left on it to reach across the selvage of the cloth in the loom toprevent mispicks or thin places in the cloth.

ard parts of the spinning frame, to the end that my present inventioncan be easilyand quickly attached to the spinning frame.

My invention operates on the general principle of driving from or withthe builder cam shaft a driving element or gear and utilizing the normalmovements of the builder rack while the frame is being doffed to bringinto co-operation with said element a driven element or gear which will,while so cooperating, intercept control of the builder rack by the mainbuilder cam sufficiently to effect the laying on the feeler wood of thebobbins of a predetermined length of yarn in the form of a small compactbunch. My invention further comprises the novel details of constructionand arrangements of parts, which in their preferred embodiment only areillustrated in the accompany 7 ing drawings which form a part of thisspecification, and in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion ofa spinning frame equipped with my improved bunch building mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation looking at the builder rack with mybunch building BUNCH. BUILD-ER.

1924. Serial n 711,545.

mechanism corelated therewith and shown 1n the act of building thebunch.

h1g3. 3 and 4 are slnnlar views, F 1g. 3

showingthe two idle positions of the driven gear, and Fig. 5its'position when first raised to engage the driving gear.

Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively enlarged side and end views of a part ofthe'builder rack showing the element of my bunch buildor mechanismcorela-tedtherewith.

Fi 7 is a detail view of the auxiliary pitmovements ofthe rings-ail. Thetravis chain hook 10 is mounted on the upright rocker arm 11 and hasconnected to it the builder traverse chain 12 which passes around anidler wheel 13 and is connected to a: drum 14 on the builder rack 15.This raclr15 is pivotallymounted on a stud 16 carried by the head 1 andbeyond its pivot it carries a counterweight 17 to partially counterbalance the weight'of the builder rack. The pick\vl1ecl-18, by meansof worm gearing 18, rotates the drum 14 as the application of themainserviee winding proceeds.

I. suitably journal in the frame 1 a cam shaft 19 for the main buildercam 20 which, in the manner'well understood in the art, engages a pitmanroller 21 on the builder rack and moves the latter to effect thetraverse forthe main service winding. I'have designed a special shaft 19which is adapted at its inboard end to project beyond the cam 20 andcarry a gear '22, said shaft being driven in any suitable manner fromthe drive of the frame so as to rotatethe builder cam 20 and 22together. This gear 22 constitutes the driving element of the buildermechanism- A The parts as thus fardescribed, with the exceptionof theshaft 19 and gear 22, are

typical of any standard spinning frame in which the ring rail is loweredto doif and have been thus described in detail solely for the purpose ofmaking clear the operation of my builder mechanism which will now bedescribed. I

I attach to the builder rack adepending bracket 23 by means of thestandard bolt 24: upon which the main pit-man roller is journaled. Thebracket has a shoulder 25 offset so as to engage under the builder rack,thus enabling the single bolt to hold it rigidly in position. In thelower end of the bracket 23 I provide an elongated vertical slot 26 andin this slot I mount a stud 27 provided with a collar or shoulder 28engaging the inside face of the bracket While a nut 29 engages theoutside face and thus clamps the stud in the desired adjustment on thebracket slot. The stud carries on its journal end an auxiliary pitmanroller 30 which coacts with the bunch builder mechanism. The studprojects beyond this roller and passes loosely through the lower slot 31in a hanger 32 which is held on the stud by a washer 33 anda cotter key3 1. The bracket 27 is free at all times to move vertically with therack 15 as its stud 27 will play in the hanger slot 31. At its upper endthe hanger 32 is provided with a hole adapted to fit loosely over themain builder cam shaft 19 between the gear 22 and a collar 35 held faston the shaft 19 by the set screw 36. The hanger 32 has in itsintermediate portion a longitudinal slot 37 in which a bearing stud 38is adjustably mounted in the manner described in connection with themounting of the stud 27 in the bracket 23, and on this stud 38, as ajournal hearing, I mount the driven element of the bunch buildermechanism which comprises at its upper end a segment gear 39 and at itslower end a segmental cam 40. The gear 39 is adapted to mesh the gear 32when the builder rack is in raised position and to clear it when thebuilder rack is in lower or intermediate positions. The driven elementis of hour-glass shape and is provided at its contracted center with anelongated slot 451 through which the stud 38 passes, leaving the elementfree to play vertically and to rock thereon. The driven element is heldloosely on the stud 38 by a collar 42 adjustably mounted thereon by aset screw 43 and carrying a stop element 44 adapted to engage the drivenelement so as to stop it in any desired position relative to the gear22, as it moves by gravity when released. A counter-weight 45 to causesuch a gravitating movement is attached. to a lower corner of the cam45, the corner used being dependcut on the direction of rotation of thegear 22. For this reason holes for the weight are provided at bothcorners of the cam 45 and the stop 44 can obviously beset on either sideof the element. The upper gear end 39 of the driven element is formedopen at its center to make it lighter relatively than the lower camportion 40 which will thus always hang down. The lower edge of the cam10 is provided with corrugations 46 which are adapted to co-act with theauxiliary bunch buildingv pitman 30 to give the requisite traverse tothe builder rack during the winding of the bunch.

It is to be understood that in all makes of spinning frames where themain builder cam shaft projects inwardly beyond the builder rack, thegear 22 can be mounted on such shaft without change in this standardpart of the frame, but where the main builder cam shaft stops at thebuilder cam, it is necessary to substitute my special extension shaft 19so as to receive the bunch builder driving gear 22 and the hanger 32.After the gear 22 and hanger 32 have been mount ed and the bracket23 hasbeen attached to the builder rack and the stud 27 is passed throughthe'slot 31 of the hanger and adjusted on slot 36 so that when itsroller 30 engages a tip or high point of the corrugations 4:6, the mainroller 21 will engage a tip ill] or high point on the main builder cam20.1

Then the stud 27 is clamped in position on the bracket 23 and themechanism is ready for operation. As the main service winding of thebobbins proceeds the builder rack 15 rises and falls responsive to theco-action of the main builder cam roller 21 and during this part of theoperation the gear 39 will stand in the full line position shown in Fig.3, with the roller 31 playing up and down on the right hand edge of thecanrdO, the

gear 39 standing clear'of the driving gear 22, stud 38 at the top ofgear slot 41, and the weight 45 in position to rock the gear 39 intoposition under the gear 22 as soon its cam 4-0 is released fromtheroller 30. Vi hen the frame is filled and it is desired to'dol'f it thering rail is lowered, whichputs slack in the builder chain 12 andpermits the builder rack 15 to rock on its pivot 16 low enough for thepitman roller 30 to clear the cam 4:0 (see dotted position Fig. 3),whereupon the counterweight 45 will rock the controller element aboutthe stud 38 until it is stopped by the stop 44:. This stop is'set tobring the desired number of teeth on the gear 39 into position to meshwith the gear 22, the more teeth being in position to mesh the gear 22the longer will be thebunch.

#Vhen the builder rack s wound up it 1S raised and from the shaft 19 bythe roller- 30. As the driven element is thus turned angular-1y it (ill1,670,860 v a i 3 will prevent the builder rack followingthe mainbuilder cam, confining the'racks movement to those resulting from theroller 30 following the corrugations 46 of the cam 40.

As these corru ations 46' are struck e ui-- distant from a common centeritwill be seen that the bunch will. be built at one place on the bobbinwhich is at the base of the feeler wood, and the rotation of the mainbuilder cam 20 will not interfere with the bunch builder mechanismbecause high points of both cams 20 andklOwill touch their re spectivepitman rollers at the same time. By adjusting the stop collar 42 aboutthe stud 38 it can be caused to arrest the gear 39 at any desiredposition and working from either side according to the drive of the gear22. At the conclusion of the bunch winding operation the gear 39 .willrun out of mesh with the gear 22, it being noted that the end teeth ofthe gear 89 are drawn in on a shorter radius so as to ease the builderrack back into the control of the main builder cam. lVhen new operation.It will thus be seen that the mechanism is entirely automatic,- isextremely simple in construction and reliable in operation and possessesthe maximum flexibility of adjustment to suit the different models offrames and to wind different lengths of yarn in the bunch.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of theembodiment of the invention herein shown,'it is not to be construed thatI am limited thereto, as changes in arrangement and substitution ofequivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the inven tion as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention,wl1at I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a builder motion for spinning frames, comprisinga builder cam and a builder rack normally controlled thereby, of a bunchbuilding mechanism comprising a driving element rotatable with said cam,a driven element, means to mount said driven element free for angularand bodily movement, and means on the builder rack for controlling theangular and bodily movements of said driven element to cause itantomatically to engage said driving element for a time, said elementswhile engaged being adapted to intercept control of the builder rack bythebuilder camvand cause the building of a bunch.

2. The combination with a builder motion for spinning frames, comprisinga builder movement, and an auxiliary pitman roller on the builder rackadapted to control the movements of said driven element and to cause itto engage said driven element automatically rcsponsiveto a dofiingoperation, said elements while engaged being adapted to interceptcontrol of the builder rack by the builder cam and cause the building ofa bunch. i

3. A builder mechanism according to claim 2, in which'said drivingelement is a gear and the driven element comprises a gear segment. 3 v 14. A builder mechanism according to claim 2, .in which the drivingelement is a gear and the driven element comprises a toothed segmentadapted to mesh said gear and a cam segment adapted to engage saidauxiliary pitman roller. v

5. A builder mechanism according to claim 2,'in which the driven elementis mounted free to rock and slip on a stud, and a hanger is providedhaving an elongated slot in which the stud is adjustably mounted. I 6. Abuilder mechanism according to claim 2, in which the driving'element isa gear 'andthe driven element comprises a gear segment and a cam segmentand has an intermediate elongated slot, a stud bearing loose'in theslot, a hanger adapted to be suspended .from the builder cam shaft andhaving an elongated slot in which said stud is adjustably mounted. Y

' 7. In a builder'mechanisi'n, the combination with a builder cam havinga driving shaft and a builder rack having a pitman roller adapted toengage said cam, of a gear on said shaft, a hanger suspended from theshaft, a segmental gear journaled to both rock and slide on said hangerand having an underhung cam surface, an auxiliary pitman roller onthebuilder rack disposed to underlie said cam surface when the rack islowered during the dofling operation so that when the rack is raisedfrom such lowered position it will engage said cam surface and lift thesegmental gear into mesh with said gear on the cam shaft, said segmentalgear after running out of mesh with its driving gear being adapted todrop past and be held against gravitating movement by said auxiliarypitman roller, a weight to swing said segmental gear when released bysaid latter roller, and an adjustable stop to limit the gravitatingmovement of said segmental gear, said gears while engaged being adaptedto intercept control of the builder rack by the builder cam.

8. A bunch builder mechanism comprising a gear adapted to be mounted onthe main builder cam shaft, a bracket adapted to be mounted on theframe, an element comprising an upper gear segment and a lower camsegment with an intermediate slot, a stud mounted on the bracket andpassing loosely through said slot, a stop mounted on .said stud andadjustable thereon to limit the gravitating movement of said segmentgear, and an auxiliary pitman roller adapted to be mounted on thebuilder rack and to'control the operation of the segmental gear. i

9. A bunch builder mechanism according to claim 8, in combination with astand for the auxiliary pitman roller adapted to be attached to thebuilder rack and having an elongated slot, and a bearing for theauxiliary pitman roller adjustably mounted in said slot.

10. A bunch builder mechanism according to claim 8, in which a bearingfor the auxiliary pitman roller is mounted adjustably on the builderrack and said bracket for the segmental gear is adapted to be hung fromthe main builder cam shaft, there being an elongated slot in the lowerend of said bracket in which said bearingworks, as and for the purposesdescribed.

11. Ina machine of the class described, the combination of yarn guides,builder arm connected to the yarn guides, a rotatable.

toothed gear, a toothed segment, means-to mount the segment free tooscillate first in one direction into operative relationship between thebuilder arm and said toothed gear and then in the opposite direction outof such operative relationship, and means for limiting the oscillatingmovement of the segment in each direction.

12. In a machine of the class described,

the combination of yarn guides, a builder arm connected to the yarnguides, a mechanism for imparting traverse to the yarn guides, a toothedsegment, means to pivotally mount the segment free to oscillate first inone direction into operative relationship between the builder arm andsaid toothed gear and then in the opposite direction out of suchoperative relationship, said segment and gear when engaged being adaptedto intercept control of the yarn guides by said traverse mechanism, andmeans for controlling the amplitude of oscillation of the toothedsegment.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of yarn guides,a builder arm connected to the yarn guides, a rotatable toothed gear, atoothed segment, means to pivotally mount the segment alongside thebuilder arm free to oscillate first in one direct-ion into operativerelationship between the builder arm and said toothed gear and then inthe opposite direction out of such operative relationship, and stopmeans to vary the extent of the angular movement of said segment whilein such operative relationship. I

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination of yarn guides,a traverse mechanism normally controlling said yarn guides andcomprising a builder arm, a rd tatable toothed gear having a driveco-ordinated with the said traverse mechanism, a

toothed element pivotally mounted free to oscillate first in onedirection into operative engagement with said gear and then in theopposite direction out of such engagement, said element and gear, whenengaged being adapted to intercept control of the yarn guides by saidtraverse mechanism to build a bunch, and means for controlling andvarying the duration of such operative engagement of the element andgear.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

JOHN F. LEHMAN.

